The Friendly Hand

Charity Number: 1088806

Annual Expenditure: £0.2M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £173,842 (2021)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly available
  • Decision Time: Not publicly available
  • Grant Range: Not publicly specified
  • Geographic Focus: International (UK, India, Peru, Spain)

Contact Details

Address: Lee Bolton Monier Williams, 1 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3JT

Phone: 020 7222 5381

Email: Howard.Dellar@lbmw.com

Website: www.thefriendlyhand.org

Overview

THE FRIENDLY HAND is a British charitable trust registered in 2001 (Charity Number 1088806) that operates internationally to relieve poverty and support religious education. The charity had an income of £37,189 and expenditure of £173,842 in its 2021 financial year, indicating it draws on reserves to fund its charitable activities. The organization is managed by three trustees and operates from the offices of Lee Bolton Monier-Williams, a specialist charity law firm in Westminster. The charity has a distinctive Catholic and Christian orientation, focusing on supporting religious education, humanitarian projects serving the poor, and infrastructure improvements in disadvantaged communities across the UK, India, Peru, and Spain.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The charity operates through trustee-directed grant-making rather than open application rounds. Grants are awarded for:

  • Educational Scholarships and Bursaries: Supporting students in need of financial assistance for education
  • Religious Support: Bibles for prison and hospital chaplaincy, grants for priests to undertake refresher courses in the Holy Land, and support for catechists
  • Infrastructure Projects: Water systems, solar installations, and basic amenities for disadvantaged communities
  • Social Support Programs: Homeless shelters, meal centers, elderly care facilities

Priority Areas

What They Fund:

  • Basic Needs Infrastructure: Safe drinking water systems, solar heater installations for care homes, sanitation projects
  • Social Care Services: Homeless shelters (e.g., winter night shelter at St. Pancras Anglican Churches, Camden; homeless shelter in Jaén, Peru), meal centers for children, elderly care homes
  • Educational Support: School resources, libraries, food and medicine for schools serving disadvantaged children (e.g., St. Xavier's School, Darsi, India; KROSS Resource Centre, Bangalore)
  • Religious Education: Spiritual renewal courses for priests (Notre Dame of Jerusalem), support for catechists, provision of religious materials
  • International Development: Projects focused on poverty relief in India, Peru, and Spain

Geographic Priorities:

  • India (particularly Guntur and Phirangipuram, Andhra Pradesh; Darsi; Bangalore)
  • Peru (Cusco, Jaén)
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom (London area)

Beneficiary Focus:

  • Elderly people in poverty
  • Children from disadvantaged backgrounds
  • Homeless individuals
  • Religious workers (priests, catechists)
  • Communities lacking basic infrastructure
  • Prison and hospital populations (through chaplaincy support)

What They Don't Fund

This information is not publicly documented. However, based on their demonstrated funding pattern, the charity appears focused exclusively on poverty relief, religious education, and basic humanitarian needs rather than secular arts, sports, or commercial ventures.

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Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  1. Mireia Pretus Labayen - Appointed April 5, 2023
  2. Rev Laura Luz - Appointed September 7, 2020
  3. Maria Marta Labayen Olarreaga - Current trustee

The charity has no paid employees and all governance is provided by the three-person board of trustees. The registered office is at Lee Bolton Monier-Williams, a specialist charity and ecclesiastical law firm with over 150 years of experience serving charities and religious organizations.

Legal Representative: Howard Dellar, Senior Partner and Head of EEC (Ecclesiastical, Education & Charities) at Lee Bolton Monier-Williams LLP, serves as the legal contact for the charity.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

THE FRIENDLY HAND does not operate a public application process. Grants are awarded at the discretion of the trustees based on their knowledge of needs and projects aligned with the charity's mission. The charity identifies and supports specific projects and organizations rather than accepting unsolicited applications from the general public.

Getting on Their Radar

There is no documented public process for organizations to approach THE FRIENDLY HAND for funding. Based on the charity's demonstrated grant-making pattern, their trustees appear to identify projects through:

  • Religious networks: Given the Catholic/Christian orientation, particularly connections through Catholic dioceses, parishes, and religious orders (evidenced by support for Little Sisters of the Poor, Notre Dame of Jerusalem, and parish projects)
  • Direct trustee knowledge: The small trustee board appears to identify needs through their own networks and connections in India, Peru, Spain, and the UK
  • Existing relationships: Projects funded suggest ongoing relationships with specific organizations and communities

Organizations with established connections to Catholic institutions or operating in the charity's priority geographic areas (Guntur/Andhra Pradesh in India, Cusco/Jaén in Peru, or the Westminster area of London) may be more likely to come to the trustees' attention. However, there is no formal pathway for soliciting support.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly available. Given the trustee-discretion model, decisions are made on a rolling basis as the trustees identify suitable projects.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the charity does not accept unsolicited applications.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the charity does not accept unsolicited applications.

Application Success Factors

Since THE FRIENDLY HAND operates through trustee discretion rather than open applications, there are no publicly documented success factors. However, analysis of funded projects reveals the following patterns:

Characteristics of Funded Projects:

  • Direct poverty relief focus: All identified projects address fundamental human needs (water, food, shelter, warmth) for extremely disadvantaged populations
  • Religious connection: Many projects have Catholic or Christian affiliations (Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Xavier's School, Notre Dame of Jerusalem, St. Pancras Anglican Churches, support for priests and catechists)
  • Infrastructure emphasis: Practical projects providing tangible improvements (solar heaters, water systems, libraries) rather than ongoing operational support
  • International poverty focus: Strong emphasis on projects in India and Peru serving communities in extreme poverty
  • Partner organizations: Grants appear to go to established religious orders, churches, and faith-based organizations with track records in their communities

Project Examples:

  • Solar heater systems for Little Sisters of the Poor elderly home, Guntur, India
  • Drinking water systems for communities in Phirangipuram, India
  • Winter night shelter at St. Pancras Anglican Churches, Camden
  • Meal centers for children in Cusco, Peru
  • Library for KROSS Resource Centre, Bangalore, India
  • Food, medicine, and water support for St. Xavier's School, Darsi, India

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • This funder does not accept unsolicited applications - there is no application process to pursue
  • Catholic/Christian orientation - strong focus on supporting religious education and faith-based organizations serving the poor
  • International poverty focus - particularly active in India (Andhra Pradesh, Bangalore) and Peru (Cusco, Jaén)
  • Infrastructure over operations - funded projects typically provide tangible assets (water systems, solar heaters, libraries) rather than ongoing running costs
  • Small-scale, trustee-led operation - with only three trustees and no staff, this is a modest private charitable trust rather than a major institutional funder
  • Specific geographic connections - the charity appears to have established relationships in particular regions (Guntur/Phirangipuram in India, Cusco/Jaén in Peru)
  • Not suitable for most grant seekers - unless you have connections to the Catholic community in Westminster or operate in one of their established geographic priority areas, this funder is unlikely to be accessible

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